Redemption
by SMARTALIENQT
Summary: Various conversations in the music room lead to something more for Ryan and Kelsi. May contain missing scenes, serious messing with canon, spoilers for HSM2, and fluff. Ryelsi. RxK. Oneshot, by SMARTALIENQT


**Title:** Redemption

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Various conversations in the music room lead to something more for Ryan and Kelsi. May contain missing scenes, serious messing with canon, spoilers for HSM2, and fluff. Ryelsi. Oneshot, by SMARTALIENQT

**Disclaimer:** This is based on things from the _High School Musical_ franchise_._ None of the stuff in there belongs to me: not the characters that I ship shamelessly, nor the parts of the dialogue you might recognize, nor the names of the songs that I reference in here. The text is mine, and most of the plot is, and the lyrics to Kelsi's fictitious solo came to me in a dream (my preciousssss) but other than that… it's all in the wonderful world of Disney. BTW, the words "it's really beautiful" come from the "Behind the Scenes" section of the Videos section of the High School Musical Section of DisneyDotCom.

**A/N:** This was going to be a multi-chapter, but all the scenes in my head were too short to be chapters. Most of it was inspired from watching the Sharpay vs. Ryan scene over and over again until I could quote it word for word, but then I watched the trailer for HSM3, the music video for "Now or Never", and several extra videos, and I incorporated a lot of the Ryelsi from HSM3 into this, mostly because every time I watch Ryelsi I turn into a raving fangirl who keens at the moon and squeals with a voice so high as to be undetected by anything except ultrasound machines.

:OoO:

Redemption riˈdemp sh ən, _noun_: the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.

Retribution ˌretrəˈbyoō sh ən, _noun_: punishment that is considered to be morally right and fully deserved

:OoO:

**Redemption**

"_I am a gentle spirit, who no one seems to see…"_

Ryan Evans, Drama King of East High and VIP of Lava Springs, did not have a very good reason for stopping outside the music room. For one thing, it was rather silly looking. Secondly, he had far more important things to do, like practicing for _Humu Humu_ with his sister and refitting his Tiki warrior costume. And thirdly, it wasn't as if he hadn't heard Kelsi's voice before. Not very often, of course, but he had heard it. He just hadn't really heard her _sing_ before.

"_I'm all alone except for you: I know that you see me…"_

Actually, that wasn't quite true. While giving Sharpay and him the music for the callbacks, she had offered to sing a bit for them, just so they knew the tempo and everything. Sharpay had rolled her eyes and explained to Kelsi, slowly, that they had been sight-reading music since they were six, but Kelsi had still mumbled a bit as Sharpay had flounced out of the auditorium, Ryan following behind.

But this was new. So, feeling ridiculous, but unable to satisfy his curiosity any other way, he walked into the music room.

"So tell me that you – oh!"

Kelsi had noticed him.

"Er, hi Ryan," she said, suddenly very interested in the way her music was ordered.

"Hey, Kelsi," said Ryan, similarly enthralled in his shoes. "So…"

"So."

An awkward silence followed. Ryan broke it first. "Um… new song?"

Kelsi visibly relaxed, glad that she was finally able to talk about something. "Yeah, I was thinking I could do it for the Talent Show. But I might not go through with it."

"Why not?" asked Ryan, startled. "Your voice – it's really beautiful," he said, searching for the words. And while that was true – her soft alto was nice to listen to – he had the feeling that somehow that wasn't what he was trying to say.

"Really?" asked Kelsi. Before Ryan could say _yes_, _really_, she continued, "I just don't think I could handle a solo. I'm supposed to make everyone else look good, and I'm cool with just writing for everyone else. And it's a little obvious, no? And kind of weird…" She trailed off, looking down.

"So, what's this?" asked Ryan, after another awkward pause. He pointed to a small pile of music on top of the piano.

"Oh," said Kelsi, "That's the stuff I wrote for the Wildcats. Like this," she said, pointing to one, "This is for Chad and Taylor. And this one is for Martha," she said, pulling out something that, from the look of it, had large instrumental breaks where Martha could dance.

"Wow," said Ryan, scanning the pages. He barely noticed he was sinking into the piano bench next to Kelsi. She had been busy. Zeke and Jason had a hip-hop duet with Martha dancing. Chad had something with rap, as well as a place to sing backup in a song with Troy and Gabriella. Actually, Kelsi had devoted several songs to Troy and Gabriella.

"What, none for me?" said Ryan, only half-joking.

Kelsi laughed. "No, none for you. Aren't you doing that thing with Sharpay?"

"Oh… right," said Ryan. He decided not to mention that he had been demoted to "Backstage Manager", which was merely another word for "someone who does everything except the main part, which said person wanted to do in the first place and only took on the extra stuff out of necessity".

"I thought that if we all had a bunch of songs," said Kelsi, getting that faraway look she got when she talked about her music, "And we all got parts in each, then even if one song didn't win, the other song would. So like if Martha's hip-hop didn't win, she could still have a chance to be in Chad's song. That way, no one feels left out, you know?" Kelsi stopped. It was clear from the look on her face that she thought she was babbling.

"Wow," Ryan said again. It made so much sense, coming from Kelsi. No one would be left out. No one could be ignored. _Wow._ He had a thought.

"So how does the whole song go?" he asked. Kelsi started to stutter.

"Oh, no, no, I couldn't, I _can't–_"

"Of course you can, just the first verse, come on–"

Before he could say anything more, he heard footsteps outside the door. For the first time, he noticed exactly where he was, whom he was talking to, and what that looked like. He sprang up to stand next to the piano just as Sharpay bustled into the room.

"Oh, hey. Kelsi's got some great new ideas to spice up the talent show," said Ryan brightly. "It's got-"

"I'm thrilled," said Sharpay, rifling through Kelsi's songs. It was clear from her voice she wasn't thrilled at all. The words "great potential" died in transit from his head to his mouth. Sharpay must not have found what she was looking for, for she turned to Kelsi and said, "Uh, that new duet that Troy and Gabriella sang? I need it."

Kelsi hesitated, then stammered, "Actually, it's not available."

Sharpay raised her eyebrows. She was not used to being denied anything. "Repeat?" She grabbed for the music, but Kelsi was faster.

"Well, it's something I wrote for Troy and Gabriella," murmured Kelsi, cradling the pages to her chest. "Just in case they decide to-"

"You're an employee, not a fairy godmother! Let's have it," Sharpay snapped, tearing the sheet music from Kelsi's grasp. "Transpose it into my key," she ordered. "Troy and I will be doing it in the talent show." Ryan's eyes widened. "Oh, and brighten up the tempo. We'll need to keep people awake," she added, as if explaining something to a small child. Kelsi opened her mouth to say something, but Sharpay was already turning for the door.

"What about our song?" Ryan asked. "What about _Humu Humu_?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Change in plans." As if that solved anything.

"What am I supposed to do with my Tiki warrior outfit?" asked Ryan. Surely Sharpay would understand the waste of a perfectly good costume, if anything.

"Save it for Halloween, go to a luau, sell it online, I don't know!" _Apparently not._ "But keep an eye on those Wildcats. If they're planning to be in the show – which I doubt after they hear about Troy and me – I don't want any surprises. Oh, and don't worry, we'll find something for you to do in the show. Or the next show."

"Really?" asked Ryan, sarcasm practically dripping from his lips. He hadn't been listening very closely. He'd been too busy looking at the piano. "Don't strain yourself, slick." He took one last glance from the corner of his eye at Kelsi, who was watching the exchange from under the brim of her striped newsboy hat. Then he stalked off angrily, without looking back. He thought he heard the keys of a piano being smashed behind him.

* * *

Kelsi Nielson was not someone who cried. Crying in public was what the cheerleaders did when someone read them a sad poem with big words they didn't understand. The only time it was acceptable was at funerals, and she'd never been to one.

Therefore, she expressed her frustration the exact same way she expressed every other emotion- she wrote music furiously.

Whatever she thought, she wrote down and set to music. Every thought was stabbed into place with her pen, every emotion was translated into sixteenth notes and staccatos, and all of it was supported by a nice accompaniment section and instrumental breaks. Kelsi preferred using a fountain pen when she wrote her music – it looked better, and was easier to use, in a way – and so little drops of ink would occasionally fly free of the pen and land on her nose, or she'd forget and smear some across her cheek. It didn't matter, though. Nothing mattered, not the fact that her paper had puncture wounds where fermatas should be, nor the fact that she was developing a dent in her middle finger from gripping the pen too tightly, nor the fact that someone was standing in her light.

"Kelsi? Um… are you okay?"

She blinked, and looked up at the person leaning next to the piano.

_Fantastic._

"Yeah," she said, polishing her glasses on her shirt. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Ryan. "You looked like you wanted to murder your paper."

Kelsi laughed softly. "Not really. I do want to murder _that_, though," she said, jerking her head towards a small pile of sheet music lying innocently on top of the piano. "You Are The Music In Me: SHARPAY VERSION" was at the top of the page. "I'm glad it's done. I hope she likes it. It's so… so _fast_ and so _peppy_, you know? It's so…"

"Sharpay?"

"Yeah…" she said. Then she realized whom she was talking to. "I didn't mean-"

Ryan waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. It's true."

Kelsi straightened. "So, what brings you here?" Instantly she wanted to kick herself. _'What brings you here?' Is there any more clichéd line? Why don't we follow that up with a nice 'I am your father' or 'I have a confession to make' or 'I can't live without you'?_

"Actually, I came to pick this up," said Ryan. He picked it up, looking it over. "Sharpay's going to love it," he promised. "Lots of parts all to herself, and a few lines for Troy."

"Good."

"Yeah." They stood in silence again, until Ryan turned towards the door. "I gotta go-"

"Wait!"

Ryan turned, and Kelsi again felt like smacking her head against a wall. _But you might as well finish what you started, Kels. Just get it over with._

"Um, I was just wondering… have you picked out a song for the Wildcats to do in the show?"

Ryan frowned. "No, not yet. Do you want to write it?" he asked.

_I am hopelessly transparent._ "Actually, I think I might already have it." She pulled out a song from her Troy And Gabriella pile. Ryan glanced at it.

" 'Everyday'?"

"Yeah. It's one of my group numbers. Everyone sings and dances at some point, but it's mostly just the tenor and soprano solos, and the background singers _here_," she pointed, "At the end."

"Cool. This works," said Ryan.

"You don't like it, do you?" asked Kelsi. _IknewitIknewitIknewit–_

"No, it's great," he said quickly. "Can you play it at practice?"

"Sure." _Lovely response there, Kels. Try more than one syllable next time._

"Great. See ya."

Kelsi waited until he was out of the room before running into the bathroom and splashing enough water on her face to get rid of the huge blush seeping into her skin.

* * *

"Okay, Chad, keep working on that spin with Taylor. Jason, it's over, under, spin, that's right, 7 and 8 and– good! Good!"

Ryan felt fantastic. For the past month, he'd held regular practices with the Wildcats, teaching them how to dance, assisting Kelsi as she helped them learn their parts, and directing them until they had transformed from caddies and dishwashers to something resembling an actual dance number. "Okay, guys," he said. "Let's take it from the top!" And they did it perfectly – Chad spun Taylor, Jason remembered the steps, Martha popped and locked during her solo, and Kelsi boogied away on the keyboard, her eyes closed in ecstasy as she mouthed the words.

Had Troy been there, Ryan knew that everyone would want him to take Ryan's place, dancing with Gabriella as one of the leads. As far as he was concerned, Troy could dance with Sharpay all he wanted. He was finally able to be in the spotlight, without having to share with Sharpay. If Troy didn't know what he was missing, then that was his loss to not be with the group that could possibly win the Star Dazzle award.

The song ended. "Get outta of here!" he said, leaving everyone to pack up their bags, take swigs of water, and leave en mass as they talking excitedly about the day's work.

As soon as they left, he heard footstep behind. _Probably Kelsi forgetting her music_, he thought. But then, Kelsi didn't wear heels…

He turned around to face Sharpay.

She didn't waste any time with niceties. "I said 'keep an eye on them', not 'turn them into the cast of _Grease_'," she said, her voice low but deadly.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked. He wasn't sure exactly what he thought she would say, or what he wanted her to say. But he knew he didn't expect her to say,

"Do you want us to lose the Star Dazzle award to a bunch of… dishwashers?"

" 'Us'?" _Since when is there an "us"?_ He waited a moment before answering. "Well, I guess that's showbiz," he said softly.

"When did you become… one of them?" she asked, just as softly.

"You know, I'll take that as a compliment. But you and Troy have a good show, sis." He moved past her and headed for the door.

"Oh, we plan to," he heard Sharpay say menacingly. A month ago, he would have felt worried. He shook his head and walked away.

* * *

"Kelsi? I just had the most fantast– are you okay?"

Kelsi sniffed. Of course she wasn't okay. All her hard work was down the drain. There would be no talent show. Or, to be technical, "There's a show, we're just not in it." And to top it all off, she was crying. Worse, she was crying in public, in front of the one person who didn't see her as a music-writing machine who just churned out songs. She had just meant to hide in the music room until everyone left to write her music in peace, but then she'd just started sobbing and then Ryan had walked in. This thought, of course, just started her sniveling again.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm fine."

Ryan eased himself onto the piano bench next to her. Slowly, awkwardly, as if he wasn't quite sure how to go about it, he pulled Kelsi into a one-armed hug. She stiffened, and Ryan almost pulled his hand away. But she relaxed, her frame occasionally shaking once in a while from a sob, and her head sank onto his shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. They sat there like that, together, until everyone had clocked out and passed them by, oblivious.

Finally, she asked, "So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Nah, it can wait."

"No, really, I want to know," she said, sitting up and turning towards him.

"Just an idea I had, about the talent show. I think… I think I might actually get Sharpay out of it."

"What?"

"And get Gabriella back."

"What?!"

"And get Troy back together with Gabriella."

"HOW?!"

He explained his plan to her. Kelsi would keep practicing "Everyday" with Gabriella at her house. On the night of the talent show, Ryan would tell Troy that Sharpay had switched songs, and Kelsi would teach Troy "Everyday".

"Wow," Kelsi breathed. "It's brilliant."

"And simple," added Ryan. "The key is secrecy. We can't tell anyone. I don't know how well the Wildcats can act, but every person we tell is another opening for the secret to get out."

"Yeah," said Kelsi. "But, Ryan, your part–"

"–is unimportant," he said quickly. His voice hardened. "Sharpay crossed the line. She made everyone miss the talent show, not just me. I know how she works. If she can't take what she dishes out, then she shouldn't do it at all."

"Wow," she said again. Apparently she couldn't think of anything else to say, for she straightened and said, "Ugh, I have to go. My mom will be worried."

"Oh," said Ryan. Then, "Do you need a ride? I can just–"

"No, I can drive."

"Really? It's no trouble–"

"No, really, I can drive myself. Besides, I can't just leave my car."

"At least let me walk you there."

She gave a nod, and together they walked to the parking lot, speaking in whispers as they discussed their plan.

* * *

"Kelsi, you have to be able to show this move to Gabriella, and the best way to teach is to learn it yourself."

"But I can't dance!"

"That was what Chad said before he decided to join the act."

"Actually, he said he _doesn't_ dance. 'Doesn't' implies that he can, but decides not to. I _can't_ dance, whether I want to or not."

"It's easy!"

"Says the person who doesn't trip over his own huge, hulking feet."

"So take your shoes off."

"_Ry_-an!"

"What?" Ryan raised his eyebrows innocently. Kelsi huffed, but finally sighed and kicked her sneakers off.

"Now what?"

"Okay. First off, grab my hand." Kelsi timidly held out the required appendage, and Ryan took it. "Now curl in, following your left shoulder towards your arm." She did as he asked, spinning inward until her arm was across her chest. Ryan smiled. "Great. Now, let's do it faster."

"Faster" became "again", then "once more". At "just to make sure it's perfect", Kelsi slipped. One foot hooked around the ankle of the other, and she went tumbling into Ryan, who landed on the music room floor, Kelsi on top of him.

"Oh-my-gosh," she said in a rush. "I am _so_ sorry. Are you okay? Do you need help? I am _so_ sorry–"

Ryan held up a hand. "I'm fine, Kels." He accepted her outstretched hand and used it to pull himself up. Then he smiled. "Let's run that again."

As she spun, the only thing Kelsi could think of was, _When did he start calling me Kels?_

* * *

"It's time."

"I know."

"Let's go through it one more time. I tell Troy that Sharpay switched songs."

"I teach him 'Everyday' as fast as I possibly can."

"Everyone's prepped for the show? They know what to do if Sharpay gives the go-ahead?"

"Yeah. Network's all set up. Once Gabriella's here, they know what to do."

"Great. Uh, Kelsi?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

* * *

Ryan Evans had a very good reason for stopping in the music room. After the sprinkler system had malfunctioned, he'd gone inside to dry off. Kelsi was playing 'Joy to the World' with as much fervor as she could muster.

"Hey, Kelsi."

She smiled. "Hey, Ryan."

"New song?" he joked, pointing at the well-known carol.

Kelsi rolled her eyes. "No. Just revisiting some old favorites," she said, waving her hand in the general direction of a stack of papers. Ryan glanced at the titles. 'Everyday' was there, of course, as were 'What I've Been Looking For' and 'You Are The Music In Me'.

Ryan took a seat next to her. There was something he had to ask. "Um, Kelsi?"

She noticed the sudden change in his tone. "Yes?"

"If I'm prying, it's okay knot to answer, but… did you just break up with Jason?"

Something rippled across her face. She looked down. "It's fine to ask. Yes, I did. It was obvious that he liked Martha anyway, and he never… it just didn't work out."

Ryan kept his gaze on her, not turning away. "You don't seem too upset."

She laughed. "I'm not. Not that much. We just didn't _click_, you know, like Gabriella and Troy do. He'd probably have called it off anyway…" she said, turning to look at Ryan.

Looking back, neither of them could remember who started it. Sometimes, their version of events said Ryan had. Other times, they thought Kelsi had taken the initiative and leaned in first. Whatever happened, they both remembered one of them kissing the other, and the other kissing back. It wasn't particularly passionate, or even well-executed, but it was a start.

Kelsi touched her lips. "Wow."

Ryan chuckled. "Once more, just to perfect it?"

* * *

**A/N:** So I went on a Ryelsi reading spree, and I almost cried. There is a SERIOUS lack of quality Ryelsi fics out there! Actually, there is a serious lack of Ryelsi fics, period. You'd think that the new movie would create a bunch of Ryelsi fics, if only for the sake of canon. Apparently not. So I decided to write my own, which may not be considered good quality to some people, but at least it's furthering the cause, you know what I mean?

Good reviewers get presents for Christahanakwanzakah! Tell me how I did on my first requited romance!


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